In Bellevue Forest, an Open Door to Nature

When Kate Karangelen converted her one-story ranch into a three-story farmhouse, she said she thought it looked like a Pizza Hut at first. (Cheryl Kenny For The Washington Post)

On warm days, Audrey Wyatt can watch a long-legged great blue heron, or sometimes its smaller cousin, a green heron, snack on fish from her backyard pond.

Although the birds, frogs and box turtles that often visit Wyatt's aquatic hub are wild, the pond's goldfish are from a pet store. "I told my grandson to never name the fish because they'll be eaten," Wyatt said, laughing.

Wyatt's 415-home Arlington neighborhood, Bellevue Forest, is just across the Potomac River from the District, but also close to nature.

Eighteen-year resident Frank McDermott, a television news photographer, said Bellevue Forest is billed as "one light to D.C." He said, "You can jump in your car and be at Dupont Circle in 15 minutes or less."

Still, "half the neighborhood is woods," said Pete Tyler, president of the Bellevue Forest Citizens' Association. "Deer, fox, just about every type of wildlife lives here. . . . The deer are the ones that trim back our azaleas."

Kim Smith, a resident since 1987, nurtures nature by piling brush in one corner of her lot for wildlife. The brush pile now serves as a fox den. When she removes a dead tree, she leaves 15 or 20 feet of the trunk for woodpeckers, flying squirrels and other critters. Smith once enjoyed having a great horned owl nest in her yard, until it killed her Yorkshire terrier. The owl is no longer on the property.

When Smith bought her 4,800-square-foot rambler on 1.1 acres, she was not a gardener. That changed when she discovered that her purchase included 243 types of azaleas and several notebooks of information on their care, passed on from the previous owner. The notebooks changed her plans for adding a sports court, revealing that a purple-flowered azalea that blooms in February would thrive only in the spot she had chosen for the court. The azalea stayed put, the court was built elsewhere in the yard and Smith is now an accomplished gardener.

Despite its pastoral setting, Bellevue Forest is not without urban challenges. Noise from airplanes leaving Reagan National Airport is a continuing concern. Mary Rowland, a Taylor Elementary School teacher, said she once considered leaving Bellevue Forest because of the noise but decided there were so many benefits to the neighborhood that she would stay in her 4,000-square-foot custom-designed rambler.

Rowland, whose cat was hit by a car in her previous neighborhood, said the light traffic in the mostly cul-de-sac community makes it friendly for her four cats and two dogs. She is part of a group that meets regularly to walk dogs and catch up on neighborhood doings.

Residents say the social life in Bellevue Forest can be as varied as the wildlife. The neighborhood garden club meets nearly every month for luncheon programs and conducts a holiday lights contest. The citizens association is active politically and socially, sponsoring events geared toward the neighborhood's many children, such as a July 4 parade and a Halloween party, as well as an adult-oriented winter social. The association's neighborhood watch, active e-mail list and comprehensive Web site also keep residents connected.

Neighbors get together informally, at nearby Donaldson Run Recreation Association Pool, and in each others' homes. "This is not an anonymous place," Rowland said. "We know each other. It's a friendly place."

Williamsburg Middle School teacher Carrie Strasburger recalled an impromptu neighborhood party spurred by power outages after Hurricane Isabel. "We have the biggest deck, so people pulled out their gas grills and thawing meats and came over," Strasburger said.

Word got out, and people from all over the neighborhood came by. "We had a grilling marathon," Strasburger said, and some people left carrying burning candles and cooked food to take to shut-in neighbors.

A few years ago, residents threw a retirement party for a mail carrier who had served the neighborhood for more than 45 years. "I think virtually every home [in Bellevue Forest] was represented there," said Strasburger. "We collected enough money to send him and his family on a cruise."

The community's houses range in style from Tudor to contemporary, English cottage to art moderne. Some homes are custom built. Most are 1950s brick ranch-ramblers constructed by builder Gene May, but many of those have been modified to the point that their roots are difficult to see.

One of the more striking renovations was undertaken by Kate Karangelen and her husband, who converted their single-story ranch into a three-story farmhouse style, complete with a red metal roof and a large front porch. The renovation, finished five years ago, raised some eyebrows. "It's a love-hate thing," admitted Karangelen. "When it first went up, I thought it looked like a Pizza Hut, with the red roof. But it mellows with time."

"We aren't into clones," said Smith, noting residents are generally accepting of the many styles. Density and lot sizes are another issue, however. Association president Tyler said some residents' attempts to sell land for construction of new homes have been controversial, and suggestions for townhouse developments have been "squashed by the neighbors." Lots in Bellevue Forest average about a third of an acre but can run up to two acres.

For 25 years, Audrey and Michael Wyatt have lived in one of the oldest houses in Bellevue Forest, a white farmhouse that was once the center of a strawberry farm. It is often called the Reid House, after the man who built the original structure in the 1880s. Audrey Wyatt had her eye on the house, which was renovated just after World War II, after noticing it while visiting a friend in Bellevue Forest. When the house went on sale, she said, "I walked in the door and said 'We'll take it.' My husband gave me an elbow."

Wyatt said she will soon start an addition, noting she loves both the house and the neighborhood. "It's very convivial here," she said, "and I plan on staying."